Bria Lou Reviews

Bridget Jones ( Renée Zellweger)  is back, and navigating life as a single mother and widow when she unexpectedly finds herself getting back into the dating scene. I was looking forward to seeing this film. I've seen the previous Bridget Jones movies, and while I wouldn't say they're huge favourites of mine, they're all a fun watch, and the first two are really nostalgic, so I was interested to see where Bridget would end up in this one. I absolutely loved this movie! I think I can confidently say that for my personal tastes, it was the best of all 4. It's not a spoiler to say that the film deals with the topic of grief. I think it does this really really well, while also keeping the franchise's usual comedic elements. It explores the theme through the eyes of both Bridget herself and her children in a really beautiful way. This version of Bridget, being older and a mother, was my favourite version of her. She really suits the role and I found her to be a much m...

  Next up for the Bucket List was a re-watch. I watched this film for the first time a couple of years ago, mostly out of curiosity. I've seen the 2005 version multiple times, and have absolutely loved the current slate of Kong and Godzilla movies, so I wanted to see how it all began (and I love that a Godzilla film is on the bucket list too, though not the original). For the most part, taking into account the film was released in 1933, I think it holds up well. Yes, the visual effects are completely dated, but the story itself has been retold multiple times because it's something that could easily happen today - someone travelling to a mysterious island for posterity, or in today's world to post their pictures on social media. It really works. The acting is great, you really believe the characters are going through this experience and the actors all do a great job with their roles. It's also a reminder of the way films can be told succinctly. I have no problem with a l...

  After a devastating loss, Hanno (Paul Mescal) uses his hidden past to battle the powerful emperors trying to conquer his home. I watched the first Gladiator film as part of last year's movie bucket list and I liked it. I didn't think it absolutely needed a sequel, but I was interested to see one nonetheless - even moreso after it got an Oscar nomination. I thought this film was fine, there were things I liked and didn't like almost in equal measure. I really liked the opening sequence, it was really engaging and took the audience straight back into the world of the first film. I also really liked the way this film connected to the first one. The visuals are stunning, particularly all of the scenery and set pieces.  From the offset, I cared about these new characters less than I cared about the first ones. Maybe because it's a sequel, but in the first film there was a real connection to the characters that this one wasn't able to replicate for me. It felt a lot lon...

  Rue is happy with her life as a biotech engineer with few friends and no repeat hook-ups until she meets Eli, the extremely attractive man trying to take over the company she works for. Torn between loyalty and an ill-advised connection, can Rue make the right decision to save her company and her heart? I'm a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood, so this book was high on my most anticipated books for this year. She always writes romance really well so, even though there was a disclaimer at the beginning of this book stating that it's different from her other works, I was sure I'd still enjoy it. And while I did enjoy it, I was also disappointed with it. But like all of Hazelwood's books, it was really easy to get into. I picked it up to skim the first page and ended up reading the whole first chapter because I was already hooked. I felt like I knew Rue just from that and really liked being in her head. It was also just an easy read all the way through. Even when I wasn't lik...

  One of my favourite things about this year's bucket list is that there are more horror movies! I was really disappointed that last year's only had a couple, but this one has a good few and they're mostly more modern classics, which is nice. I didn't really expect this film to be on the list. Even when I saw it I initially assumed it would be the original version, but no, the 2017 version is now considered a classic horror movie and I'm here for it! I've rewatched this so many times since first seeing it in the cinema, so I was excited to see it again! I can't pinpoint my favourite thing about it - there's so many amazing things to list. For a start, the cast. All of the actors did an amazing job with their roles, and it's been nice to see some of them continue to have great careers off the back of this. They had great chemistry, they all worked really well together, and even though this was a horror movie it really did look like they had fun making...

  After Blake (Christopher Abbott) and his family are attacked by a mysterious creature in the woods, Blake begins to make a strange transformation. I hadn't heard great things about this film when it came out, but it still had an intriguing enough premise that I was looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately, the reviews weren't great for a reason. For a start, the opening scene was way too long without taking the time to make the audience care about these characters. And even when the characters change and the film actually gets started, we never really get the chance to care about them, and we never really connect with them. Everything felt like it was taking a really long time to happen. The film is called 'Wolf Man', so why did it take such a long time for us to actually see the wolf man? At almost an hour in (bearing in mind the film is only 1hr 43 mins), nothing had really happened. I've seen so many general complaints online about the lighting in movies and...

  Former spies Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx) are pulled back into the CIA when their secret identities are compromised. I wasn't really planning to watch this film, mostly because I didn't think I'd enjoy it that much. But after seeing it pop up again and again and again on Netflix, I decided to give it a go. Thankfully, the film was better than I thought it would be. Though that's not to say it was great. For a start, a lot of the dialogue felt like a parody - like the film was a spoof making fun of other similarly-themed spy movies. This got better and more believable as the film continued, but at the beginning it just hits the ear wrong. The action scenes, though, were really well done in the sense that they were really fun, creative and moved the story forward. Another fun thing about the film was the soundtrack. Not all of the songs completely fit the scenes they were used in, but they were entertaining regardless. Where the story fell down for me was ...

  After nearly a year following Tobias Hawthorne's rules, Avery is ready to claim her inheritance. But when a familiar face arrives at the mansion with a mystery to solve, Avery and the Hawthorne brothers must drop everything to play one final game. A game with a deadly consequence. I reviewed the first two books of the series, The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy  and while I liked the second a lot more than the first, neither really grabbed me. But the ending of the second made me curious enough to pick up the third, so that's what I did! Again, while I think this was better than the first book, I didn't love it. For a start, the ending of the second book was a bit convoluted, which made the start of the third book a bit confusing. But thankfully everything was explained well and in an interesting way, rather than the reader just being told what had happened. I really liked that it got right into the action and straight into another mystery. I found it strange ...

Next up for the Bucket List was a pick from the Sci-Fi genre. This was another really unexpected one. I had heard of the film, though I'd never seen it, but I was surprised to see it on the list.  It's one that is more liked among audiences than critics, which isn't really common for bucket list picks. Or at least, it wasn't for the first bucket list. I loved this film.  From the first moment I was really engaged and this was the same the entire way through. I found the concept really intriguing and was glued to the screen. Though I will say there was a lot I didn't expect before I watched it - mainly how much trauma it would show/insinuate. Which of course makes sense, but it still took me by surprise. The acting was great - the child actors, in particular, were amazing in their roles and may have done a better job than their adult counterparts. They were definitely the reason I loved the film as much as I did. But the main thing I loved was the concept - I've ...

  A successful CEO (Nicole Kidman) risks her career and family when she begins an affair with a younger intern (Harris Dickinson). I was really looking forward to seeing this. The trailer blew up online and it was so highly anticipated that I had really high hopes for it, even though I didn't see as many people talking about it after it came out. Unfortunately, I ended up being a bit disappointed with this one, though I did enjoy watching it. All of the actors had great chemistry and worked really well together. I thought the film did a good job of making Remy (Kidman) a morally grey character that we don't root either for or against, despite not agreeing with her actions. A comment I put in my notes was that it was erotic without being sleazy or uncomfortable, but after sitting with it for a bit, it wasn't really as erotic as you'd think by watching the trailer. And I don't really think the erotic scenes are the best or most defining parts of the story. From beginn...

  Next up for the bucket list was a first-time watch. I'd heard of this film a bit, I think I've maybe even played one of the games it comes from, but I didn't really know anything about the films, including what they were about. This one took me a little while to get into. Although it's classed as a horror movie, particularly at the beginning it feels heavily sci-fi influenced, and when we're trying to figure out what's going on at the same time as the main character, it just didn't hold my attention. But it does get more interesting as it goes on, even if I didn't connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. It has some really creative and imaginative visuals that made it quite a fun watch. This film is a reminder of how different this bucket list is to the last one - I'm not aware of whether or not this is really considered a classic, but I love that movies that don't seem to be critically acclaimed, are still given their time to shine....

  Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is an angry, depressed woman who isolates herself by lashing out at those around her. But as she delves deeper into her feelings with the help of her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin), she is forced to confront some difficult things she's spent her life burying. I was really looking forward to seeing this one, mostly because of the trailer, which was really well made. But I'm also a fan of Marianne Jean-Baptiste so it probably would have been on my radar regardless. I really liked this movie. The first thing that needs to be mentioned are the performances. Every person in the film did an amazing job supporting Jean-Baptiste in telling this story, and she herself did an amazing job playing Pansy, an incredibly complex, powerful character. I loved the relationship between Pansy and Chantelle, and I really would have liked to see more of it. But the best thing about the film for me is how authentic it is, especially the dialogue in the first half. ...

  Next up for the Bucket List was the first film on the list that was labelled a 'tragedy'. I'd never heard of this film, but reading the title, I felt pretty certain I knew what the tragedy would be, and as well as being prepared, I was a bit sceptical about whether I would personally be affected by it. And, wow was I wrong. For a start, I didn't guess where it was going, which threw me off track. Because not only did the film affect me so much more than I thought it was going to, but it's still affecting me now. Maybe it was because what happened caught me off guard, but I was a mess after watching this. There was one point where the dam broke, and after that it just didn't let up! Of course the film was really well acted, but I feel like the basics of the story are enough to be put into any context, with any actors, and still evoke an extreme emotional reaction. Hachi was the centrepiece of the film and everything else was just supporting his story. There...

  It's Oscar day! I'm always so excited for this night, and this year I've seen more nominees than I usually would so I'm really excited to write this post and see them laid out! As usual, I'll go through the categories where I've seen most or all of the nominees and highlight what I think will win, what I want to win, and why. But I'll start by ranking the Best Picture nominees. 10. A Complete Unknown 9. Dune: Part 2 8. Emilia Perez 7. I'm Still Here 6. Conclave 5. The Brutalist 4. Nickel Boys 3. Anora 2. Wicked 1. The Substance This ranking is mostly based on my initial ratings after seeing each of these films for the first time, rather than what I think should win Best Picture. The only change I've made is moving Anora up a spot after rewatching it and really loving it. If I was reviewing it today the score would definitely be higher! I also put Dune above A Complete Unknown despite not giving Dune a rating because I felt that the visuals, cinemat...